Weekly Capsule Reviews – 14/08/2016

Armed with the backing of female soulsters and music white people have stolen since the advent of Buddy Holly (less obvious), he seems to take the trials and tribulations of his parents/ancestors and adopt them himself. Its positivity through a self-envisioned, pathos-ridden epoch that might or might not be true is steadfast and honest, true or not. Through the obviousness of the soul landscape and the less obvious guitar, we have someone that music aficionados were begging for since the birth of mainstream hip-hop. He and Charles Bradley. (8/10) [Dorney’s Top Records of 2016: #19]

Wild Beasts – King Boy (05/08/2016 – Domino Recording Company)

In an up-and-down year for electropop this is definitely an up. Frilly and fruity with a self-conceived manliness that gets them the girls, lads, whatever. Purposefully high-pitched and fuzzy-textured beats, knight-in-shining-armour sensibilities (or innocence), and a guitar… A guitar? (8/10)

Good ol’ Jakey lost the run of himself here. So many music worlds concocted into a style of his own—a style of startling and sometimes fitting (only sometimes) resemblance of his record collection. We start with, yeah, Bob Dylan-esque isolation—one of the better tracks—”I’m so lonesome on my one”, then into a rip-roaring piece of dance-rock—the best track—then two songs later into America’s “A Horse with No Name”—one of the more tuneful ones—then two songs later into James Blunt, then Noel Gallagher, then Oasis-meets-hip-hop, then the Eagles, then James Taylor, and finally, yeah, Bob Dylan. Did I lose the run of myself? Blame Jake. (6/10)

I probably should’ve known better. A computer-game soundtrack as airy (so fucking airy) as you can get. Those electronic textures at the end just wouldn’t end. Obviously these space-rock types never have anything to say other than their fast-paced drums, distorted anti-rock, and their pretensions of knowing what goes on in the universe. 65daysofstatic, in every sense of the word. (3/10)